1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to clamps and clips and more particularly to a clamp system having tension and position adjustment.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Hatch, U.S. Pat. No. 398,508 describes an instrument holder consisting of a body, a clamp attached to the body, and the spring grasping arms projecting from the body.
Ott, U.S. Pat. No. 1,220,266 describes a device comprising an extension rod having oscillating joints at each end thereof, a clamp connected to one joint, each of said joints comprising a ring having a peripheral slot therein and a ring rotatable therein, a screw passing through both of said ring members for securing the joint in position, and a bottle holder connected to the joint opposite the clamp.
Dobbs, U.S. Pat. No. 1,684,347 describes a holder comprising a pair of spring actuated clamping members, a pivot connecting said clamping members together for co-action, a clamp, and means between the pivot and the clamp allowing the clamp to have universal movement.
Martin, U.S. Pat. No. 1,688,148 describes a lamp-holder comprising a tubular standard having means whereby it may be confined in a predetermined position on a F support and provided with a contracted outer end having a mouth coaxial with the standard, and diametrically opposite slots opening into the mouth, a spring-pressed shoe within the standard, said shoe and contracted end forming a ball-shaped frictional socket, and a lamp-supporting clip having free end portions which a lamp member is insertable, and a trunnion projecting from the mid-length portion of the clip and composed s of a ball adapted to turn in said socket, and a. neck connecting the ball with the clip, the trunnion being movable bodily and rotatable in the said mouth and slots, the arrangement being such that the trunnion may swing in the slots and mouth from side to side of the standard, so that the clip may be located at either of two diametrically opposite sides of the standard, and in various intermediate positions, the trunnion being adapted to turn on its own axis to permit rotative adjustment of the clip, and various angular positions of a lamp member held thereby, when the clip is in either of said positions, the clip and its trunnion being arranged to hold a lamp member in close proximity to said frictional socket, so that the socket is adapted to frictionally maintain the clip and the lamp member in any position to which they are movable.
Mahannah, U.S. Pat. No. 2,019,789 describes an adjustable support for clamps comprising a U-shaped member having a stud integrally joined to one leg, the stud being axially bored, the other leg being apertured and threaded in axial alignment with the stud, to engage a set screw as securing means for the said U-shaped member to a stationary support, a clamp comprising a pair of jaws pivotally connected at their corresponding ends, the free ends of the jaws adapted to contact in parallelism for a short distance and each having a notch adjacent the inward terminating point of each parallel portion, means to move the free ends to and from each other, a rod and a sleeve telescopingly engaging, the rod being adapted to turn in the sleeve and means to rigidly secure said rod and sleeve together, a universal jointed means connecting the jaws to the outer end of the rod and means to rigidly secure the Joints, a pin pivotally connected to the outer end of the sleeve for rocking movement and means to secure the same against movement, the said pin being adapted to engage in the bore of the stud and adapted to turn in the same and means to bind the stud rigid to the pin.
Jury, U.S. Pat. No. 2,510,181 describes a clamp comprising a pair of pivoted, channel shaped, clamping jaws, said jaws being flanged and having in the flanges of one of the jaws inwardly opening, aligned V-shaped notches, the other jaw having transversely aligned spaced clamping blocks disposed opposite said notches.
Peterson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,524,173 describes a portable flashlight bracket comprising a C-clamp with a thumb screw threaded in the end of one of the two arms thereof and directed toward the other arm, a spring band extending from said other arm, and a double-end yoke having the arms at one end thereof straddling the other extending end of the spring band and the other arms at the other end of the yoke being arcuately curved to describe a semi-circle and carrying resilient sleeves or rollers upon the outer ends thereof, the features which include, a tubular member integral with the outer extending end of said spring band, a thumb screw extending through the first-mentioned arms of the yoke and said tubular member to secure the yoke to the latter, which include having the latter arms on said yoke divergent and smaller than the arcuate arms thereof, having the-spring band and C-clamp rigidly connected to form a substantially S-shaped unit disposed in a single plane while the arms of the yoke extend in a second plane substantially at right angles to said single plane.
Steine, U.S. Pat. No. 2,844,981 describes a device for supporting a toggle wrench or the like comprising a metal member having spaced portions each formed into a socket of generally C-shaped cross section and both being in registering alignment and arranged to receive a stationary-jaw handle of a toggle wrench, the portion of said member intermediate said sockets being substantially flat and having a series of arcuately arranged apertures therein, a C-clamp pivotally secured to said member at a point coincident with the center of the arc of said apertures, said clamp being adapted to secure am member to a supporting surface, and a pin slidably carried in said clamp and arranged to be selectively received in one of said apertures to lock said member in a selective angular position of agent relative to said clamp.
Revzin, U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,896 describes a C-type accessory clamp of the type having primary and secondary clamp adjusting means the improvement comprising a first inverted L-shaped clamping part having a horizontally extending leg portion and a downwardly extending leg portion, said downwardly extending leg portion being of greater length than said horizontally extending leg portion and having an inwardly opening U-shaped cross section throughout its length, a second L-shaped clamping part having a horizontally extending leg portion and an upwardly extending leg portion, said upwardly extending leg portion being of longer length than said horizontally extending leg portion of said second L-shaped member and having a generally T-shaped cross section throughout its length, said upwardly and downwardly extending leg portions being adapted to ht in nesting relation with the exposed flange of said T-shaped cross section overlying the end portions of said U-shaped cross section, a pivot pin pivotally interconnecting said L-shaped clamping parts, said pivot pin being adjacent the corner of said first mentioned clamping part and pivotally supporting the end of said upwardly extending portion of said second mentioned L-shaped clamping part, said downwardly extending leg portion of said first mentioned clamping part having a boss thereon adjacent the lower end thereof, an adjusting screw received in said boss and extending through said downwardly extending leg portion and into engagement with said upwardly extending leg portion whereby upon manipulation of said adjusting screw said clamping parts are caused to pivot in a clamping direction, said horizontal leg portion of one of said L-shaped clamping parts having an inwardly facing clamping pad thereon, said horizontal leg portion of the other of said L-shaped clamping parts having an adjustable opposing clamping pad thereon. The clamping pad carried by said horizontally extending leg portion of said first mentioned clamping part whereby there is substantial multiplication of the clamping forces exerted upon tightening of said adjusting screw, a clamping ring carried integrally with said first mentioned clamping part along a side wall of said downwardly extending portion, said clamping ring defining a tubular opening adjacent the outer surface of said side wall having its longitudinal axis parallel with said side wall.
Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,196 describes a rod holder of the type which may be mounted on supporting means comprising a support stand having an inclined bore at one end and a foot at the other end thereof, said foot having a plurality of peripheral teeth a tube slidably and rotatably received by said inclined bore, said tube comprising a longitudinally slit cylinder, one end of said cylinder being angularly cut, flared and notched, a damp member including a clamping fork and a clamping screw, said clamping fork being adapted to overlie said support stand foot, and splines on said clamp member adjacent said fork and engagable with said peripheral teeth when said clamping fork is overlying said foot to seam the support stand against rotation, said clamping screw serving to clamp said stand to the supporting structure.
Weaver, U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,800 describes a work holder assembly for retaining jewelry articles, the work holder including a clamp assembly for clamping retention of the jewelry article, a bench mount assembly, and a gimbaled-type connector coupling the clamp with the bench mount. The gimbal connector includes a ring assembly rotatably and hingedly connected with the bench mount and rotatably connected with the clamp. A filing block, interchangeable with the clamp assembly, is adapted for connection with the bench mount.
McCarty, U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,475 describes a vise-like C-clamp with adjusting screw and wherein two elongated square bars fixedly attached to one jaw thereof and the clamping end of the adjusting screw whereby a pair of gripping heads may be selected from a group of variously shaped heads and oppositely and interchangeably arranged on each of the bars. The clamp may be hand held or adjustably mounted in a supporting base for gripping and positioning variously shaped work pieces in horizontal, vertical, and angularly held positions while work is performed thereon.
Villacorta, U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,591 describes a simple, inexpensive clamp comprising of a flexible “C”-shaped, fixed-diameter clamping means, a rigid support member, and a “C”-shaped anchoring means whose overall design and construction allows the user to fasten, secure, and release objects quickly and easily with a minimum level of dexterity.
Sloan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,329 describes a clamp for holding a flashlight in position, while removably securing it to a support, having a generally U-shaped retaining member that is resistant to misbending or over bending and a threaded connector, cooperative with the retaining member, to enable precise adjustment of gripping tension on the flashlight body.
Hoffman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,929 describes a holding device which clamps onto a wide variety of fixtures, such as furniture, pipes, counter tops, trees, rocks, fences, etc., and holds pole-shaped objects, such as billiards cues, gun barrels, fishing rods, measurement instruments, painting tools, etc., is disclosed. A C-clamp is formed from a plastic U-shaped member, which movably couples to a plastic, pole-shaped member. The U-shaped member has a plurality of retained openings therein for selective installation of one or more retainers. A retainer press-fits into one of the retainer openings and is rotatable therein so that a wide variety of holding orientations may be achieved. The retainer includes an open, curved, resilient member, which holds the pole-shaped object. The held object is installed by being pressed into the interior of the curved member at the opening thereof. Such pressing expands the curved member sufficiently so that the opening permits passage of the held object. Resilience of the curved member then urges the curved member to return to its quiescent shape. The held object is removed by being pulled out of the retainer through the opening therein.
Stevens, U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,253 describes a universal mounting system for attaching any of a variety of I.V. devices to an I.V. pole. The mounting system has both a C-clamp and a spring-actuated clamp. The C-clamp attaches to the I.V. pole with a threaded stud that is manually adjustable with a knob. The spring-actuated clamp secures the I.V. device and is pivotally connected to the C-clamp by a pivot-screw that extends through both a spring and a non-threaded bore that is formed in the C-clamp, and exits at a recess area on the C-clamp. The pivot-screw is threaded into a threaded bore that extends through a projection on the spring-actuated clamp. The projection fits within the recess to prevent pivoting of the spring-actuated clamp relative to the C-clamp. The spring-actuated clamp has two aligned, opposing and spring-loaded clips for holding I.V. devices. The clips pivot and fulcrum together at a pivot point between the ends of each clip so as to bring the clip ends together to a clamped position on an I.V. device.
Mead, U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,822 describes a method and clamping apparatus for securely holding objects. The clamping apparatus works in conjunction with hand tools used for holding objects such as a pair of locking pliers, micrometers, tweezers, tongs, etc. and can be attached to a workbench, table, or other stable surface. A preferred embodiment of the clamping apparatus has two main components: a base module which can be readily attached to a workbench, table, or similar stable surface; and a clamping module which is used to securely hold the hand tool. The two modules fit together by inserting several dowel pieces located on one module into corresponding holes located in the other module. The two separate modules are held together by frictional contact between the dowel pieces and the holes that occurs due to bending moments created when the base module is attached to a stable surface. A slight deformation of the base module causes the dowel pieces located on one module to exert pressure against the internal sidewalls of the holes in the body of the other module. This frictional binding is sufficient to keep the two modules from separating. In the case of a pair of locking pliers, the clamping module is designed to hold the locking pliers in place by turning a screw, which contacts the head portion of the locking pliers.
Kistner, U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,837 describes a tool holder for mounting on a boom lift bucket, the holder having a first and second plate rotatable with respect to each other and having a resilient tool engagement member mounted to the second plate
Bjorklund, U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,411 describes a cable-supporting apparatus. One embodiment of the invention includes a rigid support member that may be attached to a framework that supports one or more components. At least one cable support member is attached to the rigid support member for receiving a portion of at least one cable therethrough. The cable support members may comprise split rings that each defines central cable-receiving area that is surrounded by rigid portions of the split ring.
Our prior art search with abstracts described above teaches: an instrument holder, a nursing bottle holder, a quick attachable holder, an adjustable lamp holder, an adjustable support for clamps, a clamp and bracket assembly, a flashlight holding device, a support means for toggle-actuated wrenches and the like, an accessory clamp, a rod holder, a bench mounted support for jewelry articles and the like, a vise-like C-clamp for gripping variously shaped work pieces in varying positions, a laboratory clamp, a flashlight clamp, a portable apparatus for holding objects, a universal I.V. stand mounting system, a clamping apparatus for securely holding objects, a tool holding apparatus, and a removable cable support apparatus, but does not teach a clamping system with adjustable clamp tension, position adjustment and arcuate opposing resilient fingers. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.